The present invention relates to a system for registering a terminal device into a server on a network and authenticating a terminal device. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for simply conducting registration and authentication of a terminal device having a telephone function.
In recent years, it has become possible to connect an information processing terminal such as a personal computer or a portable terminal to a communication network such as a commercial network or the Internet so as to make various kinds of service such as electronic mail transmission and reception easily usable. Furthermore, in recent years, portable information processing terminals incorporating a telephone function have also been sold. As a result, persons who are not familiar with personal computers have increased opportunities to use networks.
In order to connect an information processing terminal to a communication network, it is necessary to conduct a registration (or subscribing) procedure for a commercial network company in the case of a commercial network, and for an Internet connection company called a provider in the case of the Internet.
In order to register a provider, a procedure of filling in a registration blank followed by mailing it, or of inputting necessary matters by means of on-line sign up is required. This procedure is a very troublesome work for a person who is not familiar with personal computers. Even after subscribing, it is necessary to connect to the network to conduct an authentication check between a terminal (or an individual and a server providing service on the network. Each time a connection is made to the network, the user needs to accurately input the user's name (or ID) and a password. In many cases, the user ID and password are meaningless character strings. Therefore, there is also inconvenience caused when the user has forgotten the user ID and password.